Conflicted Copies in Dropbox

If you share your Cashbook data file with other users via Dropbox, only one person can access the file at a time, otherwise you'll get "conflicted copies". If two people change the same Cashbook data file at the same time, Dropbox will save the original file (including any new changes) and also create a "conflicted copy" of the file.

Conflicted copies have the words "conflicted copy" added to the file name, along with the name of the person or computer responsible, and the date the conflict occurred.

The above image shows the original file (Hilton Renovations.cb), and the conflicted copy of the file.

Conflicted copies can also occur when a Cashbook data file is left open on another computer. You should always exit Cashbook Complete when it's not in use to prevent conflicts.

How to Recover from a Conflicted Copy

You should first close Cashbook Complete if it's open on any other computers, then do the following:-

Open each data file (the "original file" and then the "conflicted copy") - one at a time - and compare the data to see which one is the most up-to-date

Pick the file you want to move forward with (based on how up-to-date the data is)

Do one of the following depending on which file you're going to move forward with:-

Original File – we recommend that you move the "conflicted copy" to a new folder called "Conflicted" (to keep them separate)

Conflicted File – we recommend that you delete the original file or move it to a new folder called "Conflicted", then rename the file with "conflicted copy" in its name so that the file name is back to what it used to be

If the file you've chosen is missing some data, you will need to re-enter the data to make it all current again

Notes

Cashbook Complete detects any "conflicted copies" you may have in your "Data File Folder", even if they are old files that you no longer use. If you do have conflicted copies, then check the date (date modified) of each conflicted file. If the dates are very old, you should be OK to delete them. If the conflicted copies have recent dates, then it would be best to check with any other users that access the file before deciding whether to keep or delete the file.

For Dropbox to sync properly, the safest approach is to make sure that your computers are turned on and connected to the Internet all the time, so that the files are always up to date.